Hillsborough County cross country round-up
County teams compete locally and around the state
DOVER -- Hillsborough County cross country teams competed in two local meets Saturday, as well as four major invitationals outside the area. No matter where they were, however, runners faced unseasonably warm conditions that kept most of them from turning in personal record times.

At the Sydney Dover Trails in Brandon, Newsome swept the team titles for the second time this fall. This time, the Wolves' girls did it without their No. 1 runner, Brianna Jackson, whom coach Orlando Greene said was resting due to some recent muscle soreness. Into that spot for Newsome stepped another junior, Stephanie Cajas, who finished sixth overall in a 5-kilometer time of 21 minutes, 24 seconds.

With their remaining four scorers all finishing in the top 40, the Wolves scored 101 points to hold off Indian Rocks Christian (125) and Steinbrenner (138), which was led by fourth-place Lauren Garris.

Arguably the most impressive individual performance at this meet was turned in by Tampa Prep sophomore Claire Snyder, who, despite the muggy weather and tough course, ran a lifetime best of 19:43 to win by 12 seconds over Seffner Christian standout Sabrina Whiting. Making Snyder's performance even more remarkable is the fact she did little or no training over the summer.

"I just kind of enjoyed my summer," Snyder said, matter-of-fact. "In some ways, yes, I wish I had (ran over the summer) but I also don't want to burn out. I want t be running my senior year and still enjoying it."

Newsome's boys, led by Lars Benner (second, 17:11), Justin Martinez (fifth, 17:43) and Curtis Engel (sixth, 17:44) scored 52 to earn first place, followed by Manatee (106) and Tampa Prep (131). The Terps were was paced by Miller Judge (10th), Yuri Costa (12th) and Mihir Dubey (13th). Admiral Farragut's Blake Arnold was the winner in 17:01 and taking third was Seffner Christian's Josh Keenan (17:38).

Newsome rolls, Menge takes first title, at East invitational
TAMPA --
Strawberry Crest's Trixi Menge promised herself she would finish her senior season of cross country "with a bang," and she has certainly started that way by taking her first individual title at Thursday's East Hillsborough Invitational at Newsome.

While Newsome's girls did what they always do at this meet — win the team crown — Menge surged to lead early in the race. Despite going too wide on the final turn to the finish line and allowing Bloomingdale's Julie Roggeman a chance to make a charge, Menge held on to win the 5-kilometer race in 20 minutes, 8 seconds.

Showing marked improvement since last year, Roggeman was a second behind Menge to earn the runner-up medal. That's a position where Menge has finished in years past, including this race last season, but she hopes Thursday's result is something she can produce more often this fall.

"I'm going to try my best to continue this," Menge said. "I feel so much stronger and I am going to go out with a bang. And it's going to be a wild one."

With a 3-4-5-6 finish by Newsome's Brianna Jackson, Stephanie Cajas, Emily Zwijacz and Brianna Theilig, and a 10th-place showing by Allison Kaslow, the Wolves scored 28 points to power past second-place Bloomingdale by 23.

In the boys competition, Riverview senior Michael Babinec has similar goals to Menge's. Among them is individual qualification for the state championships, something that has eluded the talented runner so far. The way he ran Thursday, that goal is well within reach. He led from wire-to-wire to win in 16:43, a comfortable 22 seconds ahead of Newsome junior Lars Benner.

With Benner taking second, Justin Martinez (17:39) in third, Curtis Engel taking sixth, Maurice Bolduc in 11th and Ben Taylor finishing 13th, the Wolves won the boys team trophy with 35 points.

Bloomingdale's Andrew Leblanc (fifth), Ian Ludden (seventh) and Matt Leblanc (ninth) all cracked the top 10 to lead the Bulls to second place with 52

Notions about Newsome relay team best left in the
Wed. March 30, 2011 | Joey Knight


RIVERVIEW — To this point, it has proved itself as unbeatable locally as it is unassuming physically. The quartet that comprises Newsome’s best boys relay team knows it scares exactly no one at the starting line.

And the Wolves love it.

“I like it when people try to judge a book by its cover because you kind of get surprised at the end of what’s really inside,” bespectacled No. 3 leg Isaac Baker said.

“We walk on the track, you’ve got a couple of skinny toothpicks, you’ve got a muscle man, we’ve got another muscle guy, and you’re like, ‘Aw, those guys aren’t fast,’ and we just keep quiet waiting for the race to start.”

Meet the group that has spent the past month shattering school records and stereotypes. The Wolves 4x400-meter relay team — Baker, junior Harvey Noah and seniors A.J. Dowse and Adam Mallady — want you thinking they’re a bunch of advanced-placement scholars out for track.

You’d be accurate, though the truth is likely to hurt you more than it hurts them.

“We are underestimated,” said Dowse, the anchor leg who owns a 4.4 GPA and the nickname “White Lightning.” “It kind of helps us run, to prove people wrong.”

Entering the season’s stretch run, the Wolves have dropped their times, but not the baton — ever. The next race they lose will be their first.

They sprinted into the area’s consciousness three Saturdays ago at the Charles Johnson Invitational at King High, where they set a school record (3:24.68) in astounding fashion.

Trailing runners from Hillsborough and Pompano Beach Ely entering the final turn, Dowse found a seam between the two, then accelerated along the inside lane to win by more than two seconds.

“I was just astonished,” said Dowse, a proficient base-stealer in the South Brandon Little League who discovered track when he failed to make Newsome’s baseball team as a freshman.

“I was like, ‘How did we pull that off?’ It felt like it was kind of a miracle.”

Actually, it was a harbinger of heats to come. A week later, at the USF/Steinbrenner Invitational, Dowse and Co. went even faster (3:23.46). They were set to run at Wednesday’s Western Conference Federal Division meet at Spoto before it was halted by inclement weather.

“Trust” is the key, Baker said. “We have to know each other. We’ve got to know our paces and how we come in. That handoff is what gets us to win.

“I wasn’t sure if (Dowse) was going to be able to take them all (at the Johnson Invitational), but it’s the trust issue. I saw him at that last curve and he just found a hole. I saw him bust through and I knew it was all over.”

Baker and Dowse think the group has a chance to eclipse 3:20, which would’ve earned a top-five finish at last season’s Class 4A state meet. They formed half the Newsome team that placed 14th in that race.

Their speed and seasoning, combined with the other pair’s upside, make their goal reasonable.

Noah, the rangiest of the group, appears to have the most physical promise. Mallady, a cornerback/free safety on Newsome’s football team, is healthy again after sustaining a stress fracture in his back last spring. Dowse says Mallady may be even faster than before.

All the better to fracture perceptions.

“We’re young and it’s just (three weeks) before we’ve got districts,” said Mallady, the No. 2 leg. “I think we can shave a lot more time off. A.J. and Isaac, they just keep getting better.”